OW does Jennylyn Mercado feel now that ex-BF Mark Herras is courting Nicole Anderson and is very open about his feelings for Jean Saburit's daughter? “Honestly, I'm happy for him,” she says on the set of “Super Noypi”. “Kung totoong nagkakamabutihan na nga sila, at least, that means that he has moved on. And it's good, dahil ako, matagal na akong naka-move on.

Wala na akong bitterness malaman ko mang meron na siyang bagong mahal. I'm even happy na meron na siyang nahanap na iba.”

When she says she herself has moved on a long time ago, does that mean she has also found a new inspiration in life? Could it be Patrick Garcia who's currently being linked to her?

“Right now, I feel it's something very personal and I want to keep it private muna. All I can say is that I'm happy and yes, inspired din ako. Hindi naman porke umamin na si Mark, kailangang umamin na rin ako. Kung may bago na nga akong mahal, gusto ko rin siyang protektahan para wala na lang gulo. Ayoko na kasing maulit ang nangyari with us ni Mark na bawat galaw namin, sinusubaybayan ng mga tao at pati bawat away namin, ang daming pumi-picture. Naisip kong one reason why we had to break up was dahil siguro naguluhan na kami sa mga tao sa paligid namin. So this time, I want to avoid that para hindi na maulit ang ganoong mga pangyayari. The important thing is Mark and I remain good friends at heto, tanggap pa rin ng tao ang love team namin kaya nga we're paired again in ‘Super Noypi'.”

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IYA AND JAY-R, NEXT SAY AND JB?

MANY were surprised when Iya Ginez was ousted from Pinoy Dream Academy . She's really one of the prettiest among the girls and also sings very well, so she has every right to stay there and be one of the final six. Did she have an inkling she'll be expelled?

“I had a feeling so I even told Jay-R (Siaboc, her boyfriend who's from Cebu ) na he cried a lot when Jun Hirano of Japan left PDA,” she says. “Sabi ko, baka pag akong lumabas, hindi siya umiyak. When only Michelle and I were left, I felt ako nang maaalis kasi, sabi nga ng iba, mas mahirap akong makalaban kung akong maiiwan.

But I don't take it against my co-scholars. Hindi ko gawing mamersonal, lalo I learned so much in my 8 weeks with PDA. Ang mga itinuro sa ‘kin nina Sir Jim Paredes, Sir Moy and Ma'am Maribeth, hindi ko kayang bayaran.”

She misses Jay-R and hopes their relationship won't fizzle out after PDA, like what happened to Say and JB after PBB. “Napakabait na tao ni Jay-R at kahit sinong babae will be lucky to have him. We got to know each other nang magkita kami sa ABS. I took the audition sa Dagupan and he, sa Cebu . By the time we performed sa Cebu about a month later, kami na. He's not my first boyfriend, pero siya ang pinaka-serious. He helped me forget the pain I experienced with my past boyfriend.”

The eldest of four kids of a Dagupan councilor, she's been the Sangguniang Kabataan chairman in their place since 2001. At 15, she joined the Juanitez Band in their place and went solo singing at Bodega in Quezon Avenue when she turned 19, against her dad's wishes. “Pasaway ako, e. But in less than a year, I called him up and he said umuwi na lang ako. I went back to school and took up commerce at Pangasinan Colleges, until I joined PDA nga.”

Who does she think will make it to the final six? “Definitely, Jay-R will be there as he's very talented, then Yvan and Yeng kasi pareho silang kaya gawin ang lahat.

And Panky, Joan and Davey.”

Will she go on and try showbiz? “Yes. I really hope ABS will give me good breaks.”

One thing she should watch out for is her weight. She seems to have gained excess pounds while in PDA. “That's true. Kasi ang sarap ng buhay namin doon. Tuwing vacant period, we eat, so I'm now trying to reduce.”

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D'SOUND IN MANILA

WE got to interview the Norwegian band, D'Sound, when they were here to promote their new album, “My Today”. This is their fifth album after “Spice of Life” released in 1997, “Beauty is a Blessing” (that spawned the international hit “Tattooed on My Mind” in 2000), “DoubleHearted” (2003), and “Talkin' Talk” (2006, with the title song used by Nokia for a TV commercial). In “My Today”, they go back to their roots, recording the entire album live in a studio with the same musicians who worked with them in their debut album, with vocalist Tony Momrelle as special guest in the duet “Birthday” and German jazz trumpet player Till Bronner also guesting in “Sigh”.

D'Sound members Simone (vocals), Jonny (bass) and Kim (drums) first met in 1993 in Oslo , the capital of Norway . They describe themselves as a modern band where all the members play equal roles. Is there any romantic involvement between them?

“None,” says Simone, who has Turkish blood. “These two guys are just my brothers and having a relationship with them will be incest.”

Their new album is released by Universal Records and features potential hits “Green Eyes, “Universally”, “Feel Again”, “Birthday”, and the title track.

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